Colin Powell

Outrageous Racism By Eleven Republican Senators On Joint Chiefs Of Staff Nominee!

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Alabama Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville has, single handedly, blocked promotions and confirmations of 300 military personnel for seven months, due to his opposition to the allowance for military families to travel to states that permit abortions.

Tuberville has undermined national security, and embarrassed us before our international allies, as well as our enemies.

Finally, however, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has been able to force a vote on the top three people coming up for promotion and elevation in rank to the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

But, interestingly, the new Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Charles Q. Brown, Jr had 11 Republican Senators vote against him, while two other appointees, Randy A. George and Eric M. Smith, were confirmed with 96-1 and 96-0 votes respectively.

So the question is why was the vote 83-11 for Brown? And the answer clearly is that Brown is African American, the second person of that race to be Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, following General Colin Powell, while George and Smith are both white!

What an outrage, and who are these eleven despicable and racist Senators? 🙁

Tommy Tuberville of Alabama
Ted Cruz of Texas
Josh Hawley of Missouri
Ron Johnson of Wisconsin
Marco Rubio of Florida
Mike Lee of Utah
Roger Marshall of Kansas
Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming
Eric Schmitt of Missouri
Mike Braun of Indiana
JD Vance of Ohio

All but Mike Lee voted yes on George and all eleven voted for George.

So the only conclusion is PURE RACISM, including by Cuban American Republican Senators Cruz and Rubio!

All eleven of these Republican Senators need to be called out, and exposed and condemned, and every attempt at kicking them out of the Senate when they come up for reelection is essential, as their behavior is totally reprehensible! 🙁

Bill Clinton Illness And Colin Powell Death Reminders Of Fragility Of Life

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The past few days reminds us, even if we try to forget, of the fragility of life.

First, Bill Clinton, age 75, had a dangerous urological and blood infection, that required six days in the hospital, and will require a few weeks of further recovery at home.

And this morning, we have the shocking news that former Secretary of State, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and National Security Advisor Colin Powell has died of COVID 19 complications at age 84, despite having been fully vaccinated, although he was suffering from cancer.

Powell was a truly great American, a man much admired. But his defense of the claim of WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction) before the United Nations, which justified the Iraq War under George W. Bush at the time, was proven to be a lie, undermining somewhat his reputation.

Still, as a mainstream Republican, Powell supported Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, Hillary Clinton in 2016, and Joe Biden in 2020, and was an especially leading critic of the danger represented by Donald Trump.

So we are thankful that Bill Clinton is recovering from his illness, and greatly saddened by the death of Colin Powell!

Republican National Convention Speakers List Pitiful When Compared To Democratic National Convention List

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The Democratic National Convention had an amazing list of speakers, besides Joe Biden and his wife The list includes Kamala Harris, Hillary and Bill Clinton, Barack and Michelle Obama, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, many of Biden’s Democratic rivals for the nomination, several Republicans (John Kasich, Colin Powell, Christie Todd Whitman among others), and a number of public figures from the world of sports and entertainment.

The best that Donald Trump can do is have his four older children, his wife, those connected to his children (son in law Jared Kushner and wife and girlfriend of sons), and Vice President Mike Pence.

Trump has to be in the center of each night’s presentation, which insures he will say stupid comments will hurt him.

And who outside of family connections will speak for Donald Trump? Iowa Senator Joni Ernst, former UN Ambassador and South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.

This is not exactly an inspiring list, and means such individuals as the following are not speaking or participating in the Republican National Convention:

George W. Bush, Laura Bush, Jeb Bush, Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, John Boehner, Dick Cheney, Liz Cheney, Cindy McCain, Jeff Flake, Bob Corker, and apparently most Republicans in the House and Senate presently, although a few might make an appearance.

One can assume most members of the present Trump Cabinet might appear, but they have already lost all credibility as the most corrupt group of cabinet officers in American history.

And one can probably expect the criminal Stephen Miller, responsible for the despicable separation of children, including babies and toddlers, from their parents at the Mexico border, for the simple act of applying for asylum, which is perfectly legal.

This is a human rights crime, and should lead to Miller and the Trump cabinet which voted for it in 2018, facing indictment and prison for this violation of human rights of innocent victims!

It will be an infuriating four days of lies upon lies upon lies, and hard to focus on, as the sight of Trump and his despicable followers in government are enough to make one ill!

Republicans For Biden Or Not Supporting Trump

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There are many Republicans, mostly not presently in public office, who have made it clear they are not supporting Donald Trump for reelection, and some going further and endorsing Joe Biden.

Among those making clear they will not back Trump are the following:

Former President George W. Bush

Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush

Senator Mitt Romney of Utah

Former National Security Adviser John Bolton

Former Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona

Retired Four Star Navy Admiral William McRaven (who directed the raid that killed Osama bin Laden in 2011)

Among those expressing doubt but not yet committing are the following:

Former Speaker of the House John Boehner of Ohio

Former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan of Wisconsin

Former White House Chief of Staff and General John Kelly

Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska

Former Congressman and Governor Mark Sanford of South Carolina

Former Director of National Intelligence and Senator Dan Coats of Indiana

Among those formally endorsing and supporting Joe Biden are the following:

Former Governor and Congressman John Kasich of Ohio

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg

Former New Jersey Governor Christie Todd Whitman

Former California gubernatorial nominee Meg Whitman of California

Former Secretary of Defense and Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel

Former Secretary of Defense and Marine Corps General James Mattis

Cindy McCain, wife of former Senator John McCain

Former Presidential contender in 2016 Carly Fiorina

Former Congresswoman Susan Molinari of New York

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell

Former Department of Homeland Security Chief of Staff Miles Taylor

Retiring Florida Congressman Francis Rooney

Conservative commentator George Will

Conservative commentator Bill Kristol

Republican strategist Steve Schmidt

Republican strategists Rick Wilson

Republican strategist John Weaver

Republican strategist George Conway, husband of Trump advisor KellyAnne Conway

Also, a number of Republican groups opposed to Trump are spending tens of millions on advertising to oppose Trump, including

The Lincoln Project

Republican Voters Against Trump

43 Alumni For Joe Biden PAC (referring to George W. Bush)

Republicans For The Rule Of Law

Divided America: Clinton America Vs Trump America

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The final vote count is in for the Presidential Election Of 2016.

Hillary Clinton won 48.05 percent of the popular vote 65,844,610; Donald Trump won 45.96 percent of the popular vote 62,979,636, a lead for Clinton of 2.85 million votes, greater than 11 Presidents of the United States out of 44, including Trump.

Electoral votes–Trump 304, Clinton 227–other electoral votes went to Colin Powell 3; Bernie Sanders 1; Faith Spotted Eagle 1; Ron Paul 1; John Kasich 1, with Mike Pence gaining 305 for Vice President, and Tim Kaine 227; with Elizabeth Warren 2, Maria Cantwell 1, Susan Collins 1, Winona LaDuke 1, and Carly Fiorina 1. Trump is 46th out of 58 elections in percentage of the electoral vote.

Land area–Clinton 15 percent 530,000 square miles Trump 85 percent 3 million square miles

Population—Clinton 54 percent 174 million Trump 46 percent 146 million–not counting over 5 million votes for third party candidates combined.

Clinton won the cities and college towns, native American reservations, areas with heavy black and Latino populations.

Trump won many of the suburbs around cities, plus 80 percent of the nation’s counties.

So we are two Americas–totally different and hostile to each other!

The future is gloomy for any way to unite and advance America, and we have rough times ahead!

Grand Rapids: Donald Trump Is NOT Gerald Ford, And Michigan Will NOT Go To Republican Party, And Hillary Clinton Visit Insures That!

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Donald Trump visited Grand Rapids, Michigan a few days ago, in a desperate attempt to win that state’s electoral votes, the state of Gerald Ford, our 38th President.

Hillary Clinton will visit it today, Monday, in her last full day of Presidential campaigning.

There is no debate that Gerald Ford, a decent man, a moderate conservative Republican, a principled President who is too often underrated, would NOT endorse Donald Trump, were he alive, any more than a whole slew of Republicans, alive and dead–including George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush, Colin Powell, Mitt Romney, Lindsey Graham and innumerable others who are living, and such past Republicans as Barry Goldwater, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, along with Ford.

Donald Trump could not walk in the shoes of Gerald Ford, and one can be sure his wife Betty would be leading the denunciation of misogynist, sexist, sexual abuser Donald Trump!

Donald Trump is a total disaster for the Republican Party and its heritage, and one can be sure that Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and Dwight D. Eisenhower are sobbing right now at what has happened to their party!

25 Years Since The Middle East Crisis Which Led To Persian Gulf War Against Iraq, Led By President George H. W. Bush

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It was 25 years ago this week that Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi dictator, invaded Kuwait and incited US intervention by January 1991, in what became the six week Persian Gulf War.

Iraq had even been supported by the United States during the Iran Iraq War in the 1980s, but it now became the major menace of the Middle East, and forced the United States to intervene, with the backing of Saudi Arabia, which feared it would be the next victim of Iraqi aggression.

So President George H. W. Bush created a United Nations coalition, and with the assistance of General Norman Schwarzkopf, Colin Powell, James Baker, and Dick Cheney, and others, the fear that it would be a long war turned out not to be the case.

The UN went into this war, the first since the Korean War, with the understanding that the goal was to force Iraq out of Kuwait, and nothing more, so Saddam Hussein was able to remain in power, cause more trouble, and lead to another Iraq War, which would go on for many years under his son George W. Bush, and be ended under Barack Obama.

The whole mess in the Middle East became much more complex as a result of all of these circumstances, and helped, as we look back, to the rise of ISIL (ISIS), with not only the continued disarray in Iraq, but also with the revolutions in Egypt, Libya, Yemen, and the horrific civil war in Syria.

Despite all these circumstances, George H. W. Bush, now 91, is seen as having done the right thing a quarter century ago, and keeping the limits set up by the United Nations coalition that fought the war in true unity with the United States. It is still one of his greatest accomplishments as President.

Dick Cheney: The Most Villainous Vice President In American History, Bar None!

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America has had 47 Vice Presidents, and some of them have been true disasters and villains.

Aaron Burr, Vice President under Thomas Jefferson (1801-1805), tried to steal the Presidential Election of 1800 from his own running mate, Thomas Jefferson. He then proceeded to kill Alexander Hamilton in a totally legal gun duel in 1804. He was then accused of a plot with Spain to take away territories from the United States, was captured, brought to trial for treason, and found not guilty. In his old age, his wife sued him for divorce due to his serial cheating, which she had been unaware of, and left him in poverty.

John C. Calhoun, Vice President under John Quincy Adams (1825-1829) and Andrew Jackson (1829-1833), showed lack of loyalty to Adams, switching support to Jackson, and then threatening to lead South Carolina in seceding from the Union, provoking the Nullification Crisis of 1832-1833.

Schuyler Colfax, first Vice President (1869-1873) under Ulysses S. Grant, was involved in the Credit Mobilier Scandal, and was therefore, forced out as the second term running mate of Grant.

Spiro Agnew, Vice President under Richard Nixon (1969-1973) was a divisive, confrontational Vice President, who was forced to resign in disgrace due to involvement in financial scandal, including taking cash bribes in his years as Baltimore County Executive, Governor of Maryland, and also as Vice President.

And then there was Dick Cheney, who enriched himself through his associations with Haliburton, a company which gained from war profiteering. He helped to promote war in Iraq, knowing full well that the war was based on false pretenses, and he advocated and promoted EIT (Enhanced Interrogation Techniques), meaning torture against detainees said to be involved in terrorist plots against America, including September 11, even though it went against American values of ethics and morality, as well as violation of international law. Cheney has never apologized for his actions or behavior, or had doubts in any form, while enriching himself in a totally corrupt manner. His daughter, Liz Cheney, has become the younger female version of her father; and his wife, Lynne Cheney, has shown herself to be no better.

Meanwhile, many Republicans, including Colin Powell, John McCain, Lindsey Graham and others have condemned the methods and actions of Dick Cheney, and there are calls for him and George W. Bush to be accountable for war crimes, although there is no possibility of them ever facing trial.

Without a doubt, Dick Cheney stands out as the most villainous Vice President in American history bar none!

Secretary Of State: More Prominent Public Figures Historically Than Presidency!

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The Secretary of State serves at the will of the President of the United States, and its ranks have included future Presidents; Presidential candidates who were Secretary of State and later lose the Presidency; Presidential losers who then become Secretary of State; and Presidential contenders who do not get nominated for President, but later become Secretary of State. The Secretary of State also is often a great public figure who becomes notable for his background, without having sought the Presidency. Witness the following:

Presidents who were Secretary of State—Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Martin Van Buren, James Buchanan

Presidential candidates who were Secretary of State and later lose the Presidency—Henry Clay, James G. Blaine

Presidential Losers who then become Secretary of State—Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, Lewis Cass, James G. Blaine, William Jennings Bryan, Charles Evans Hughes, John Kerry

Presidential contenders who do not get nominated for President, but later become Secretary of State—John C. Calhoun, William Seward, Edmund Muskie, Hillary Clinton.

Great public figures notable for their background, without having sought the Presidency, but become Secretary of State—John Marshall, Edward Everett, Hamilton Fish, William Evarts, Richard Olney, John Sherman, John Hay, Elihu Root, Robert Lansing, Frank Kellogg, Henry Stimson, Cordell Hull, James F. Byrnes, George C. Marshall, Dean Acheson, John Foster Dulles, Dean Rusk, Henry Kissinger, Cyrus Vance, George P. Shultz, James Baker, Warren Christopher, Madeleine Albright, Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice.

So 42 of the 68 people who have served as Secretary of State are prominent in American history, while some of our 43 Presidents have NOT been notable in their careers or in their Presidency!

Eleven Years Since Greatest Blunder In Modern American History: The Iraq War!

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Eleven years ago today, America went to war in Iraq on the false premise that there were weapons of mass destruction there, which did not exist!

It is clear that George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and Donald Rumsfeld KNEW that fact, but they convinced Colin Powell to speak before the United Nations on a lie that he was not privy to, took advantage of his far greater stature than any of them had!

The Iraq War led to 4,400 American dead, and over 30,000 wounded, with many losing limbs or part of their skull, and many having mental and emotional trauma which continues today!

It led to the longest war in American history, except for the Afghanistan War, which was put on the back burner, and still goes on today, making both wars total failures, but another 2,000 killed in that war.

It did not create a stable Iraq, but killed at least many hundreds of thousands in Iraq, if not a million or more.

We spent a lot of treasure, helping to double the national debt under the Bush-Cheney regime.

We allowed ourselves to engage in war with Iraq, when Iran was the much bigger threat, and remains so in 2014.

We also gave the excuse for Vladamir Putin of Russia to invade and take over Crimea, as allowed under international law, because, after all, we had claimed the right to invade a sovereign nation in a war of choice, a preemptive war, making us no better than past aggressors, who attacked without a direct provocation.

Many feel that George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and Donald Rumsfeld are international outlaws, and it is clear that if it were possible to arrest them, they could be tried on human rights abuse at the International Court of Justice in the Hague, the Netherlands!

Of course, that will not happen in reality, but this is not something that should be overlooked as an example of what happens when the wrong people are put into power, particularly with the reality that George W. Bush did not win the popular vote in the Presidential Election of 2000, but won the court case that was decided on party line vote in the Supreme Court, a majority which had been picked by Republican Presidents!

History will not judge the Bush Presidency well, and no matter what the Republican Party of 2014 does to sweep the past under the rug, the truth will win out, and it will not be pretty!